Everyone wants to know what events are going to look like in a post-pandemic future, but as a company that throws the best events in the channel, we couldn’t just ask that question — it was our job to answer it, too. I couldn’t be more excited with our solution: BigRedVirtual, a proprietary online events platform also debuting as a hybrid in-person/virtual platform during our May 11–14 Boot Camp in Orlando.
After running our big annual Boot Camp event last April on a third-party platform, we quickly knew we needed our own software and platform capable of running virtual and hybrid events. The clunkiness of third-party solutions just weren’t going to cut it.
We were fortunate in that very few channel companies have more experience than we do when it comes to channel events, virtual or otherwise. We’ve technically been running hybrid events at least four times per year for the last 12 years, utilizing our in-house membership platform. With that experience under our belts, we were able to leverage the backbone of that mature software to quickly develop our own fully functional virtual events platform just months later during our 1,500-attendee CyberLivecast event in mid-July 2020 and host our first non-Technology Marketing Toolkit event on the platform in late August 2020.
Unlike many other virtual platforms, BigRedVirtual is built and housed right here in the U.S., with the development team in Pennsylvania and the product and support team in Nashville. And it’s been GDPR-compliant from the start because we recognize that once you go virtual, “regions” become parts of the globe, not parts of the country. BigRedVirtual has now been tested with events in every part of the world, and we couldn’t be happier with the results. Datto’s December 2020 MSP Tech Day event had over 5,000 attendees on three continents, and BigRedVirtual was more than up to the challenge.
We also continue to develop a wish list of awesome features that we knew channel events needed, like gamification, livestreaming, easy vendor booth creation/setup, real-time reporting, full look and feel customization of events, site updates in real time, a mobile app for hybrid event attendees, interactive video features, and a simple, straightforward pricing model that fits nearly any channel event. Plus, your sponsors/exhibitors will love the platform because it allows a ton of customization on their end without your having to do a lot of work, including custom virtual booths. For hybrid events, those booths interface seamlessly with the physical booths on the tradeshow floor, which empowers your vendors through real-time feedback. And security? Multiple industry experts and tech insiders in the channel have told us it’s the safest platform of its kind they’ve ever seen.
So, yes — if you’re planning an event, virtual or otherwise, there’s a lot to love about BigRedVirtual. It’s the platform we made to meet all our needs, and I’d bet it will meet all of yours as well. Get started today by requesting a free live demo of the system on our website at BigRedMedia.com/virtual-events.
